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English Literature in the Old English and Middle English


Periods (from the 5


th


century to 1400)


Major points


?



A Brief Introduction to English Literature


?



English Literature in the Old English and Middle English periods (500-1400)


?



English


Literature


in


the


Old


English


or


Anglo-Saxon


period


(from


the


5


th



century to 1066)


?



English


Literature


in


the


Middle


English


or


Anglo-Norman


period


(1066-1400)



I. A Brief Introduction to English Literature


?



English Literature in the Old English and Middle English periods (from


the 5th century to 1400


)


English literature in the Old English or Anglo-Saxon period (from the 5


th


century to


1066)


English literature in the Middle English or Anglo-Norman period (1066-1400)



?



English literature in the Pre- Elizabethan Period (from 1400 to 1557)



?



English Literature in the Elizabethan period (1558-1625)


English literature in the first stage (1557-1579)


English literature in the second stage (1580-1599)


English literature in the third stage (1599-1625)


?



English Literature in the Middle and Late 17th Century










Metaphysical poetry











Other major poets: John Milton, John Dryden and John Bunyan


?



English Literature in the 18th Century










Poetry, prose and fiction in the early 18th century












Fiction in the middle and late 18th century











Drama in the 18th century











Neo-classicism and Pre-Romanticism in the middle and late 18th century


?



English Literature in the 19th Century










English literature in the early 19th century











English literature in the mid-19th century











English literature in the late 19th century



?



English Literature in the 20th Century










English poetry, fiction and drama before 1945











English poetry, fiction and drama since 1945



II. English Literature in the Old English and Middle English Periods


(500-1400)




Major points:


?



?



?



?



?



?




Oral literature


Folk literature and religious literature


Alliterative epic and


Beowulf



Romances and


Sir Gawain and the Green Knight



William Langland and


Piers the Plouman



Geoffrey Chaucer and


The Canterbury Tales



Britons / Romans / Normans:


?



The


Stonehenge


(1400-1800


BC) as


one


sign


of


the British


civilization,


one


of


the oldest in the world.


?



The Celts as the first inhabitants of the British Isles.


?



The Britons, one of the Celtic tribes, came to the British Isles in the 5th century


BC,


staying



for


some


500


years,


and


called


the


place


“Britain”


which


means


“the land of the Britons.”



?



The Roman soldiers of Julius Caesar conquered the Britons in about 55 BC.


?



The Anglo- Saxons, one the Germanic tribes, conquered the Britons and Romans


in


the


5th


century


and


stayed


until


1066.


Anglo-Saxon


became


English


and


“Britain” became “England.”



?



The French-speaking Normans conquered England in 1066 and the Old English


period


(Anglo-Saxon


period)


ended


and


the


Middle


English


period


(Anglo-Norman period) began.



A.


English


Literature


in


the


Old


English


or


Anglo-Saxon


period


(500-1066)


Major points:


?



Beowulf


?



Major features



Beowulf





The earliest literature of the English people, like that of many other peoples, originated from


the collective efforts of the people, usually when they were working or resting from their labors.


Stories


based


on


history


or


legend


or


contemporary


events


were


narrated


orally


and


often


sung


during festivities and other occasions, chiefly for entertainment. Some of the more interesting of


these narratives were passed from mouth to mouth and from generation to generation, and as they


were


told


and


sung


by


different


singers


at


different


times,


additions


were


made


to


them


or


deletions were taken from them.






The most monumental literary work in English literature in the Old English or Anglo-Saxon


period (from the 5


th


century to 1066) is


Beowulf


. It is the only important single poem handed down


in the written form and is preserved intact. Probably existing in oral form in the 6th century, it is


believed to have been written in the 7th or 8th century although its manuscript extant now can be


dated back to the 10th century. Composed of


3183 lines of alliterative verse (


Alliteration, also


known as “head rhyme” or



“initial rhyme,” is a verse form which means the repetition of the


same


sounds,


usu.


initial


consonants


of


words


or


of


stressed


syllables


in


any


sequence


of


neighboring words, e.g.


“lord of


language.” Alliterative


verse


is


a


verse


in which


the


chief


principle of repetition is alliteration rather than rhyme


), it is the longest of the early English


poems preserved today.


Beowulf


is an epic, telling the story of Beowulf, a national hero, who went to fight against


the enemies in defense of his country. (


An epic is a long narrative poem celebrating the great


deeds of one or more legendary heroes in a grand ceremonious style, who was usu. protected


or descended from gods, performed supernatural exploits in battle or in marvelous voyages


in saving or founding a nation


). Its major themes, among others, are religious belief, heroism,


and honor, as can be seen in the following remarks:



It is better for a man to avenge his friend than to refresh his sorrow. As we must all expect


to leave out life on this earth, we must earn some renown, if we can, before death; daring is the


thing for a fighting man to be remembered by



(LL133-1388). (Beowulf



s words)



Our


strife


had


ended


at


its


very


beginning


if


God


had


not


saved


me




(LL1658-1659)


(Hrothgar



s words)



Every man



s action was under the sway of God



s judgment



(LL2858-2859) (the narrator



s


words)


“Death


is better for any earl than an existence of disgrace!



(LL2890-2891) (Wiglaf



s words)



Major Features of English literature in the Old English period:


1) Most of English literature in the Old English period existed in oral form;


2) The most important literary form of English literature in the Old English period is the epic;


3) Alliteration is the basic verse form in English literature in the Old English period;


4) The only work in written form in the Old English period is


Beowulf


, whose major feature is the


use of alliteration.




B.


English


Literature


in


the


Middle


English


or


Anglo-Norman


period


(1066-1400)


Major points:


?



Folk literature


?



Religious literature


?



Romance (the bulk of literature of this period) and


Sir Gawain and the Green


Knight


?



William Langland (1332-1400) and


Piers the Plouman



?



Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) and


The Canterbury Tales



Romance


Definition:






A romance is a verse narrative that sings of knightly adventures or other heroic deeds, and


usu. emphasizes the chivalric love of the Middle Ages Europe.


Themes:






“The


Matter


of


Britain:”


Romances


which


deal


with


the


Arthurian


legend


(6th


century,


a


semi- legendary


king


of


the


Britons


and


national


hero


who


may


originally


have


been


some


Romano-British war leader in the west of England called


Arthurus


, but is represented as having


united the British tribes against the invading Saxons, and as having been the champion not only of


his people but of Christendom as well.)






“The


Matter


of


France:”


Romances


which


tell


stories


concerning


Charlemagne


(747


-814,


king of the Franks and Christian emperor of the west) and his knights





“The


Matter


of


Rose:”


Romances


which


are


tales


of


antiquity


from


the


Trojan


War


(the


ten-year


war waged against Troy by the Greeks in order to get back King Menelaus’ wife, Helen,


who had been abducted by Paris, king of Troy) to the feats of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)


Form:






Although most of the English romances of this period were metrical, meter and rhyme being


adopted from French poetry to take the place of alliteration in Anglo-Saxon poetry, in the early


14th century, however, there was a curious revival of alliterative verse in a number of romances


written in the West Midland dialect of Middle English.


Representative works:


Sir Gawain and the Green Knight







Anonymously


written


in


1360-1370,


Sir


Gawain


and


the


Green


Knight



is


the


most


outstanding


single


romance


on


the


Arthurian


legend.


Consisting


of


four


sections,


it


is


mainly


concerned


with


the


tests


of


faith,


courage


and


purity,


and


the


human


weakness


for


self-preservation ---- all of them are traits of chivalric romances.



C. English Literature in the Second Half of the 14th Century


Background





Although romances were still written in the second half of the 14th century to celebrate the


knightly


deeds


of


the


past,


chivalry


was


rapidly


losing


its


glamour.


The


early


flowering


of


the


Renaissance, which began first in Italy in the 14th century, soon spread to France and by the end


of the 14th century the writings of (Francesco Petrarca) Petrarch (1304-74, poet and scholar) and


(Giovanni) Boccaccio (1313-75, writer) already started to exert their influence on many English


writers. Superstition prevalent through the Middle Ages was beginning to lose ground in the minds


of the people with the gradual dawning of science in Europe. The second half of the 14th century


marked the deterioration and decline of feudalism in England and the great economic and political


changes


had


their


impact


on


literature,


and


English


literature


flourished


after


three


centuries


of


comparative lull.



Major writers and their works


1. John Wycliff (1324?-1384):








John


Wycliff


has


made


some


contribution


to


English


literature


by


taking


the


















responsibility for the earliest translation of the entire


Bible


from Latin into English.


2. John Gower (1330-1405):








John


Gower


is


known


for


three


works


written


in


three


different


languages:

















“Speculum


Meditantis”


or


“Mirour


de


l’Omme”


in


French



(“The


Mirror


of


Mankind:”


a


religious


allegory


in


three


parts


on


the


sins


of


man)


(1376-


1379);


“V


ox


Clamantis”


in


Latin


(“The


Voice


of


Clamants:”


a


poem


attacking


the


peasants’


rising


of


1381)


(c.


1382);


and


“Confessio Amantis” in English (“A


Lover’s Confession:” a long poem


illustrating the seven


deadly sins) (1390-1393).


3. William Langland (1332-1400):







William


Langland is


well remembered for his work,


Piers the Plouman


, (which he began


probably in 1362 and was preoccupied in his last twenty years) which can be divided into two


parts: the vision of Piers the Plouman and the vision of Do-wel, Do- bet, and Do-


best. “Piers the


Plouman” contains two themes: the exposure of the corruption of the Court and the Church (the


ruling class) and the expression of the misery of the exploited and oppressed (the ruled class),


and thus holds up a mirror to England in Langland’s time.




Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)




Life career:


Geoffrey Chaucer was the greatest writer in the second half the 14th century. Born of a


wine-


merchant’s


family,


he


served


as


a


court


page


in


1357.


He


was


in


the


English


army


fighting


in


France


in


1359,


and


after


being


taken


prisoner,


he


was


released


and


returned


to


England


in


1360.


He


took


education


at


the


Inner


Temple


where


he


received


training


for


a


career at the court from 1361 to 1367. He entered the service of King Edward III and went to


the


European


Continent


nine


times


on


some


diplomatic


errands


from


1367


to


1377.


He


journeyed


to


Genoa


and


Florence


in


Italy


from


December


to


May


1373


and


was


made


Controller of Customs and Subsidy of Wools, Skins and Hides in the port of London in 1374.


He was appointed Controller of the Petty Customs on Wines and other merchandise in 1382


and became one of the justices of the peace for Kent in 1385 and was elected M. P. for Kent in


1386. He died in 1400 and was buried in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. Chaucer


served


in


his


lifetime


in


a


great


variety


of


occupations,


working


as


courtier,


office-holder,


soldier, ambassador and legislator. He had broad and intimate acquaintance with people high


and low in all walks of life and knew well the whole social life of his time. His varied career


had its impact on his writing, which is quite evident in his masterwork


The Canterbury Tales


.



Literary career

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